Coordinator - Online Safety Technology Academic Engagement

Please note this role will close at 00.01 on 19th September so we advise making your application by midnight on the 18th September.

About Ofcom

Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day. We make sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio.

Our culture is clear – we live by our values: Empowerment; Excellence; Collaboration; Agility and Respect. These define how we work to deliver our purpose, now and in the future. The behaviours which support these values set the path for a fully inclusive and innovative culture at Ofcom.

We focus not only on what we do, but how we do it. We pride ourselves on being an organisation of people who genuinely care about helping others.

About the Team

Almost every part of our lives is now online. As well as bringing many benefits, there are also real risks posed online by harmful or illegal activity – from hate speech to bullying and harassment to child sexual exploitation, and more. The UK Government has appointed Ofcom as the new regulator for Online Safety. There has never been a more meaningful time to join Ofcom on our mission to create a safer life online.

The Online Safety Technology team conducts research to build knowledge and understanding in subject areas fundamental to Online Safety. This includes, for example, AI and machine learning, digital identity, privacy enhancing technologies, decentralisation, user experience, gaming, network infrastructure, and digital forensics. The team provides technical expertise to policy, supervision and enforcement colleagues in the wider Online Safety Group, and others in Ofcom, during policy development processes and industry engagement activities.

Purpose of the Role

The role will enhance the team’s capabilities for engaging with academia. We recognise that significant expertise and highly relevant research related to Online Safety exists in higher education institutions. The role will help ensure that the team can leverage this external expertise and research to increase our own technical competency.

Your key responsibilities:

• Communicate with academic researchers to understand their work and its relevance to Ofcom’s Online Safety activities.
• Build and maintain awareness of Online Safety Technology knowledge gaps which external research can fill.
• Generate collaboration opportunities with academic researchers and manage projects from conception to delivery.
• Attend academic and industry events to learn about the latest developments, writing thorough and accessible readouts to relevant colleagues afterwards.
• Follow processes for accurately recording Academic Engagement activities.
• Provide technical advice to colleagues in one or more areas of interest to Online Safety.

The skills, knowledge and experience you will need for success:

• Forming relationships: Ability to build connections with colleagues internally and academic researchers externally.
• Harmonising work: Experience collaborating with others inside and outside your team, coordinating stakeholders to deliver research projects.
• Evaluating problems: Ability to identify opportunities where academic research can complement or extend Ofcom’s knowledge, understanding, tools and datasets.
• Executing plans: Experience managing projects to ensure delivery to specified timeframes and following processes for documenting project progress.
• Articulating ideas: Ability to communicate with different audiences, particularly making technical concepts understandable and relatable to non-specialist audiences.
• Technical proficiency: Broad knowledge base of Online Safety Technology areas or adjacent fields (such as information security or cyber security) with sufficient depth to meaningfully engage with academic researchers.
• Academic familiarity: Familiarity with the UK academic community focusing on Online Safety (or adjacent fields) and research processes, including the role of funding bodies.

At Ofcom we prioritise inclusive and diverse recruitment in order to truly reflect the society we represent.

Where positions are listed as full time, we remain open to reduced hours, part-time arrangements, job shares and other flexible working options from day one of employment.  We warmly welcome applications from candidate returning to work after a break – for whatever reason.

As a disability confident employer, we offer interviews to any disabled applicant who meet essential criteria for advertised roles.  Learn more about the scheme here.

If you need information in an alternative format or have specific preferences, please contact our recruitment team.